Answers to Frequently Asked Questions What is a virtual domain? Do you offer dial-up Internet access? Do you support MS Front Page extensions? Do you offer web page design services? Can I upgrade from a non-domain to a virtual domain account? Can I upgrade from a virtual domain to a full domain account? Can I upgrade from a virtual or full domain to Front Page? Can I check domain name availability? Does BitWare Solutions handle domain registration? Can I transfer an existing domain to BitWare Solutions? How long will it take before my domain name is active? What is the InterNIC fee for domain registration? Does BitWare Solutions limit the number of hits I receive a month? How do I transfer files to my web site? Will I have unlimited access to update my pages? Can multiple domains point to the same HTML files? Can I use my account for commercial purposes? Do you accept international orders? How long has BitWare Solutions been in business? What contract and payment terms are available? Do you offer technical support? How long does it take to set up a new account? How do I place an order?

The Internet is running out of IP addresses. To alleviate this problem, the major browser manufacturers have devised a protocol for virtual domain addressing. Multiple virtual domains can occupy space on the same IP address while maintaining their own domain name identity. At this time Netscape 2.0 and higher, MSIE 3.0 or higher and AOL 2.5 or higher are the recommended browsers capable of directly access virtual domain configurations. Fortunately, these browsers comprise approximately 98% of the browser market. If someone is looking for a virtual domain and is not using one of these browsers they would get the home page of the domain hosting service. BitWare Solutions specializes in virtual domain hosting. Our home page, www.bitware.net, is dedicated to linking these non-supported browsers to the home pages of our customers, not advertising our own business. www.bitware.com is actually maintained as a virtual domain on our domain server.

No, providing a specialized Virtual Domain Service means that we do not have hundreds of modems to maintain enabling us to devote more time to our customers and to the addition of enhancements to the entire system.

Yes, We have setup a special server for our MS Front Page Users. It has all of the features of our Standard Server plus the MS Front Page extensions. This server is for MS Front Page 97. MS Front Page 98 support is scheduled for mid-late December. MS Front Page requires a unique IP address and 18 MB of Front Page Extension for each domain. Due to these requirements, we can only support MS Front Page on our "full domain" web sites. Unfortunately we can not offer the same level of cost savings on these accounts.

Yes, our web hosting service grew out of customer requests from our web design service.

Yes. You can upgrade at any time for the difference in setup fees between the account types. We will also credit any unused monthly charges toward your new virtual domain. After the upgrade, your non-Domain and Virtual Domain addresses can link to the same home page.

Yes. You can upgrade at any time for the difference in setup fees between the account types. We will also credit any unused monthly charges toward your new domain. Keep in mind that since your site will move to a new server your IP address will also change. As a consequence, your site will be inaccessible via your domain name for 2-3 days.

No. Microsoft has designed FrontPage Servers to be incompatible with standard Internet Domain Servers. You can move your site to a Frontpage account or vice versa. Since the setup procedure is different on FrontPage Servers, we are forced to charge $40.00 for the new setup. Any unused monthly will be applied to the new account. Keep in mind that since your site will move to a new server your IP address will also change. As a consequence, your site will be inaccessible via the domain name for 2-3 days.

Use the following form to check the availability of a domain name. Please enter a domain name and select one of the extensions, ".com", ".net", or ".org". A query will be performed onInterNIC Registration Services database.

DOMAIN NAME: . com net org

BitWare Solutions will register your new domain name with InterNIC for you. We will register it in YOUR name and InterNIC will bill you directly for this service. When Internic announces the completion of the registration, there is a 72 hour propagation period before visitors will be able to find your site.

----------

BitWare Solutions will register new domain names with InterNIC for you. InterNIC will bill you directly for this service. We do not charge to fill out your paperwork. If you have an existing domain

Yes. Be sure to specify that you are requesting a transfer and NOT a new domain. You should keep the service at the present site while waiting for Internic to complete the transfer. We will provide you with a temporary FTP logon and password so you can mirror the site on our server. We will fill out and send you a modify domain name template to forward to hostmaster@internic.net. When Internic announces the completion of the transfer there is a 72 hour propagation period where visitors could go to either site. At the end of the 72 hours you should contact the previous host to have them delete the old domain from their records and update their DNS record. If you use this same provider for your Internet access you will not be able to access your domain site at bitware.net until they update their DNS. All email and web pages will still be accessed from your current site until propagation is complete. During the propagation period persons accessing your site will be going to both sites until all are accessing the new site.

Once the InterNIC announces that your domain name has been registered (or transferred, if applicable), it usually takes about 72-hours before it is active. All Internet providers must update their records (DNS tables) to reflect new site locations. This is called propagation.

The InterNIC charges $70.00 to register a new domain name. This fee covers the first two years. They currently bill at a rate of $35 per year. The InterNIC will send you an invoice via email between 3 weeks to six weeks after the domain is registered.

No. Our experience has shown that 300MB/month is more than enough data transfer for 99% of all web sites and we use it as a bench mark. Depending on the quantity and size of your files, 1000MB could support many thousands of hits per week. If your site begins to exceed several gigabytes of data transfer each month, we will contact you about upgrading so performance doesn't suffer.

Files must be transferred to the web server via File Transport Protocol (FTP). If you have a PPP Internet account and need FTP software, you can download a program for either the PC or Mac from our site. Internet providers such as AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy may have a built-in FTP interface. An FTP tutorial is available for first time users. BitWare Solutions offers unlimited FTP access.

You have unlimited access via FTP 24-hours a day. As such, you can create and maintain your web pages on your own computer and upload files to your web site at your convenience.

In general, if you have more than one domain account at BitWare Solutions we can point each domain address to the same HTML files. There is a $25.00 setup and $5 monthly fee to mirror sites.

Yes, you can use your account for commercial purposes. The World Wide Web has become a most efficient and cost-effective means of making information, products and services available to the users of the Internet community.  BitWare Solutions Virtual Server secure processing is available FREE using SSL and PGP to provide an environment whereby payment information (such as a credit card number) or confidential information (such as a custom form) can be transmitted from web browser to web server in an encrypted mode. Look for the solid key for secure transaction licensing.

Yes. We are pleased to have customers around the world. If desired, we can host non-US domain name extensions. All payments must be made in US currency.

BitWare Solutions has been in the web site design business since 1995. Our staff consists of a trained and professional technical support team, system administrators and network analysts.

We bill in monthly increments for resellers and quarterly for standard users and do not require a minimum contract beyond the initial set-up and first month fee. We accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express as well as personal and business checks.  Email us if you wish to use wire transfer as a form of payment.

Yes. We encourage our customers to send email to support@bitware.net with questions or concerns about their web site. We are relatively quick to respond to support email up to about 11pm EST on week days. If we cannot offer a solution to a concern within a reasonable timeframe, we will invite you to call us or we'll call you directly.

Orders for servers will be configured within 24 hours, and most times will be done the same day. Once an account is set up an activation notice will be sent you via email including a userid, password, and FTP hostname. You can begin uploading files to your new web site immediately. Domain account users will be given a temporary URL to access their site via the web prior to the completion of either domain registration or transfer.

You can place an order for a Virtual Server account directly from our web site 24 hours a day or by calling (800) 878-4084 between the hours of  9 am to 11 pm Monday through Friday EST.  If you have presales questions please use our technical support line at 910-485-2383.